1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to cups for throwing dice in dice games, and more particularly to dice cups adapted for use in Liar's Dice or variants thereof, and still more particularly to a dice cup with a see through bottom that conceals the results of the dice throw to all but the cup holder.
2. Discussion of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR §§ 61.97, 1.98:
A turn in a game of chance is often commenced by throwing or rolling one or more dice. When the die are rolled, the score used in the turn of play is almost invariably the value or values showing on the uppermost face of the dice after they come to rest. In a game of pure chance, it is imperative that the dice roll randomly without any control exercised over the outcome by the person rolling or throwing the dice. In consequence, immediately before the throw the dice or die are blindly shaken and allowed to rotate and change position freely. To minimize the influence by the thrower, rather than using bare hands, the dice may first be shaken in a dice cup, and then rolled from the cup or clapped down onto a table surface to bring the dice to rest.
Some dice games involve concealing the dice after a roll. The most well known among such games is Liar's Dice (known as Call my Bluff or Perudo in the commercial versions). The game originated in South America and has become a popular gambling or drinking game in the United States. It goes by the name of Dudo or Cachito in South America, though the South American variants are typically called Mexicali or Mexican in the United States.
There are several versions of Liar's Dice, the most important being “individual hand,” “common hand,” and “Mexican”, mentioned above. All variations involve two or more players, the use of five six-sided dice, a dice cup, and then use of the dice cup to conceal the dice after each roll. When the dice come to rest, the thrower tips the cup, looks at the result, and commences the bidding process. Subsequent bids and bets are made about the result of the roll based on the credibility of the opening bid and the successor bids. Thus, while the dice remain concealed, players must either raise a bid or challenge the bid in turn. As noted, the concealment is generally effected by tipping the cup only slightly, such that only the thrower can see the dice trapped under the cup. However, cheating is common (nearly encouraged), and the player throwing the dice often cup their hands around the base of the cup as it is tipped to more fully conceal the dice.
The number of dice and dice cups differs according the game variation played. In the “common hand” variation, each player is provided with a set of dice; the players each roll one dice and conceal the throw from the other players. Bids are made by each player based on the dice he/she sees plus a prediction of all the dice concealed dice (namely, the dice thrown by all the other players). In the “individual hand” variation, at each turn one set of dice is passed from one player to the next. Bids are made according to the dice as they are in front of the bidder after selected dice have been re-rolled. Both the common hand and individual hand variations use a set of five six-sided dice. In the variant known as Mexican Liar's Dice, only three dice are used.
However, in each variation, and in each round of play, the roll of the dice and the progression of bidding takes place with the dice concealed from all players other than the thrower. Typically, the bidding begins with the dice thrower openly stating the minimum number of a chosen face showing on the dice rolled (one “4” for instance”). The statement may be a an accurate description of the roll, or it may be an outright lie. Thus, the name Liar's Dice comes from the practice of responsive bids, which can include calling the first bidder a “liar” by challenging the bid and forcing him/her to lift the cup to reveal the dice and show whether the bid was valid. In such a case, if the same number or more of the chosen face number are revealed, then the bid is considered successful, and the throwing player wins. Otherwise the challenger wins.
As would be expected, numerous dice cups have been styled for particular dice games, either because the cup fits the physical needs of the game or because of other design constraints that dictate a certain design. Backgammon dice cups, for instance, tend to be oval in shape and have a relatively thin profile. Such a shape is driven by the need to fit the dice up in the case typically used for the backgammon game. Interestingly, no special design has been proposed for use in playing Liar's dice, and the kind of cup employed in Liar's Dice is merely the classically styled leather or vinyl cup having a generally cylindrical shape, a bottom bumper, and bull lips. Occasionally the interior of the cup is provided with a soft material to dampen the sound of the rattling dice. The classic cups require the thrower to tip the cup to view the dice.
It would be desirable if the ritual of tipping the cup to view the dice could be entirely eliminated. This would free the thrower's hands to attend to other matters (handling a drink, for instance), and it would also free him from having to lean closely down to see the dice under the ever-so-slightly tipped cup. This would focus more attention on his or her face, and the lying would have to be more skillful and convincing. A dice cup with a restricted viewing window might accomplish such an objective.
Dice caps with windows for viewing a dice roll have been devised. For instance, dice cups with transparent walls are shown in each of U.S. Pat. Nos. 148,374 to Mains; 1,781,983 to Koch; and 3,892,410 to Hoetzel.
In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 4,533,143 to Albright et al teaches a lottery number selector including buoyant cubes contained in a fluid tight and generally opaque container. The container has a window for viewing a predetermined number of the cubes temporarily trapped and arranged adjacent the window after agitating the container by a user. A cube receiving channel is formed within the container adjacent the window for releasably trapping a desired number of cubes adjacent the window.
In a variation on the Albright invention, U.S. Pat. No. 4,148,488 to Kohlhagen describes a sealed cube with six transparent windows, in which is disposed a second cube having six number bearing faces, each in register with and in relatively close proximity to a corresponding face of the first cube. An optical shielding liquid within the container fills the container so that when the die is at rest a transparent bubble is formed between an upper, horizontally disposed insignia bearing face and the container face in registration with the upper face. The shielding liquid obscures all of the other number bearing faces. In this manner, only the uppermost face of the inner cube can be seen.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,259,618 to Ramos teaches a lockable, tamper proof dice cup for use in games of chance, which includes a transparent cylindrical wall attached to a receiver base to form a chamber for containing dice. A locking mechanism comprising a tamper proof set screw with an end engaging the cylindrical wall captures the dice within the chamber and prevents unauthorized removal of the wall from the base. Dice, however, can be seen from all sides of the wall.
The foregoing patents reflect the current state of the art of which the present inventor is aware. Reference to, and discussion of, these patents is intended to aid in discharging Applicant's acknowledged duty of candor in disclosing information that may be relevant to the examination of claims to the present invention. However, it is respectfully submitted that none of the above-indicated patents disclose, teach, suggest, show, or otherwise render obvious, either singly or when considered in combination, the invention described and claimed herein. Specifically, none teach or show a dice cup that provides means for selectively viewing the results of the dice throw without having to tip the dice cup; more particularly, the foregoing patents do not teach or describe a dice cup with means for the dice thrower to view the results of a dice roll by looking at the dice through a viewing window while also preventing others from viewing the dice.